Shadows of the Night
by itsnotcaitlinn
Summary: Love and Hate, Friendships and Betrayal, War and Peace. A mysterious prophecy to defeat the evil that les in Skyclan. Follow Shadowclimber through his journey in this suspenseful novel.
1. Prologue

_**Hello, this is my first fanfic and I hope you enjoy. :)**_

 _ **Copyright- I do not own the Warriors series, it is owned by Erin Hunter and Harper Collins Publishing**_

 _ **Prologue **_

The night was warm and a cool breeze was blowing, the inky black sky was littered with glistening diamonds and the moon was a large silver orb in the night sky. A cat was sitting at the edge of a cliff, unafraid of the steep drop before him. His head was tilted towards the sky and his white fur was a luminous silver in the moonlight, giving the small cat a ghostly look.  
"Starclan, give me a sign," he murmured anxiously. He sighed and looked over the gorge that the cliff overlooked. "Why have you left us? What are we going to do without your guidance?" he yowled into the silence, searching the dark skies again. An older cat stepped out of the shadows, his dark fur melting into the shadows but his green eyes shone bright in the darkness.  
"Skycloud," the dark cat meowed, sitting beside the pale cat. "Has Starclan spoken to you?" he asked, worry tinged his mew.  
"No, they are silent," the white cat said without facing the other cat. The older cat sighed before speaking,  
"They have been silent for moons. Do you believe they have given up on us?"  
"No, I just think even they don't know what to do," he answered solemnly. He turned and faced the cat, "I'm leaving. They are not speaking to me tonight Treestar."  
"Skycloud, they could speak, it's not even moonhigh," the mottled cat protested.  
"No, they are no-," he was cut off as a spasm shook his body, his legs buckled underneath him and he crumpled to the floor. Seizure after seizure shook his small frame and the larger cat looked on knowingly, not moving to help him. The small cat stopped shaking, his eyes rolled back, his mouth opened and in a raspy unlike his own spoke.  
"The light will only arrive when the shadows defeat the darkness," he spoke the words over and over. He stopped as quickly as he had started, he returned to his normal state but when he tried to stand he couldn't. Treestar ran over to him and held the small cat up easily, his muscles rippling under his fur.  
"Skycloud, are you ok? Can you stand?" Treestar asked anxiously, not letting the frail cat fall.  
"Yes, I'm fine Treestar," he answered, stepping away from the muscular tom. He started walking but Treestar stopped him,  
"Skycloud, was that a prophecy?" he asked although he knew he answer.  
"Yes, I don't know what it means though. We must not tell the clan about this. He meowed gravely, with a glance behind him. He started padding away, but a yowl stopped him in his tracks.  
"Nightbreeze!" Treestar yowled above the caterwauling coming from the middle of the gorge. Treestar glanced at Skycloud but he was racing down the path to the gorge.


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

Shadowkit was sleeping soundly when something heavy landed on him, he awoke with a grumble and looked around trying to locate what had awoken him. His eyes landed on his sisters play fighting in the small nursery, he got up and crept in the shadows towards them, his black fur melting into the shadows and he was careful to not make a sound. He was near when they broke apart and started whispering, he made his way closer to the she-cats. When he was close enough he leapt, colliding with the tabby she-cat. He purred in satisfaction when he heard a hiss and Owlkit turned around with a cry and a look of shock on her face. Her large yellow eyes wider than usual and her tabby fur fluffed up so she looked larger. Sandkit realized what had happened and turned around calmly, but he could tell she was annoyed at him from her expression.  
"Shadowkit!" The ginger she-cat cried, "We thought you were asleep,"  
"Well I was until someone woke me," he growled, irritated with his sisters. They were always together, and you would never know where one pelt started and another ended. They never let him join him and although he looked a lot like his mother Nightbreeze, he felt like an outsider. He knew that every cat was shocked by his gray eyes, something that had never been seen by the clan before.  
"Well, you can't go creeping up on cats like that," Owlkit said disdainfully, recovering from her shock. Shadowkit rolled his eyes and stalked away but stopped when a familiar voice called him. He turned around and bounded towards his mother, his earlier annoyance gone when he realized what was going to happen.  
"I think you can go outside and explore the camp now," Nightbreeze meowed, her eyes full of love. Shadowkit bounced on his paws with excitement and anticipation, while Owlkit and Sandkit were squealing and play fighting again, he rolled his eyes at their immaturity even though he too was a kit. They bounded outside, the leaf-fall sun was weak and there was an icy chill in the air, making Shadowkit shiver despite his thick coat. A dark gray she-cat was waiting for them, she padded towards them and she introduced herself as Rabbitpaw, their tour guide for the day. She led them down the trail and stopped in front of a small den.  
"This is where the apprentices sleep," Rabbitpaw said, just as a ginger tom padded in, grumbling. "That's Bramblepaw, he's always grumpy, so don't worry," she said with a purr.  
"We're going to be apprentices soon!" Owlkit meowed enthusiastically.  
"Not for another 4 moons," growled a cat from behind them, all four cats jumped and turned around to face the cat that had frightened them.  
"Father!" the three kits exclaimed, looking excitedly at the brown tabby tom.  
"Kits," he purred, rolling his eyes. He shared a look with Rabbitpaw, who was his apprentice and padded away. When the kits turned back to face Rabbitpaw, she pointed in turn to the higher dens with her tail,  
"That one is the elders den, and that one is the warriors den," she meowed, "I'll be in the warriors den soon," she added, her eyes shining with pride. They continued towards a large pile of rocks, where a small crack could be seen. "That's Skyclouds den, the medicine cat. You must only go there if you are sick or injured," she said sternly, looking pointedly at Owlkit and Sandkit.  
"Yes Rabbitpaw," they meowed in unison. They walked away but Shadowkit felt something watching him, turning around he saw in the darkness of Skyclouds den a pair of bright blue eyes watching him.

The full moon contrasted with the deep blue bruise of the sky, the night quiet as everyone was sleeping peacefully except for Shadowkit. Shadowkit lay in his nest that he shared with his mother and sisters, he could see the rise and fall of their stomachs as they breathed and occasionally Sandkit would twitch in her sleep, startling him. He was restless and whenever he closed his eyes he saw those blazing blue eyes. He carefully crept out of his nest and padded out onto the path that led down onto the floor of the gorge. His eyes adjusting to the light of the moon, he listened to the sounds of the night; the hoot of a lone owl, then distant roar of monsters on the thunderpath and the rustle of small critters in the undergrowth. He stalked across the clearing, being as quiet as a mouse. Nearing the undergrowth he stopped and pricked his ears, hearing a sound coming from behind him. He whipped around but saw nothing. Taking one last look around he hesitantly padded into the forest, the thrill of knowing he shouldn't causing his legs to tremble with excitement. He stopped again, the feeling of something watching him tickling the back of his mind. Uneasy, he turned and padded up the path and into the nursery. Curling into his mother's belly, with his sisters on either side he felt safe and content, exactly how he should be.

It was two moons later and Shadowkit was a carefree kit again, the uneasiness gone. He was eager sunhigh because today was the warrior ceremony for Rabbitpaw. Rabbitpaw was always very kind to him and even taught him some fighting moves, he knew she would be a great warrior. The sun was only quarter way through the sky when he decided to go visit the elders. He padded up to the den, when he peeked inside he saw a grumbling Dirtpaw getting rid of ticks with mouse bile. He walked inside, his lip curling when the scent of the mouse bile hit invaded his nostrils.  
"Hello Quickeyes, Softheart, Darkleaf," he meowed nodding the elders in turn.  
"Hello Shadowkit," Softheart meowed warmly, blinking friendlily. Shadowkit padded next to the former medicine cat, lying down comfortably before speaking. "Can you tell me a story?" he asked curiously, looking at all the elders. Dirtpaw stalked out of the den, snorting as he passed Shadowkit. Shadowkit looked at Dirtpaw with a confused expression, he had no idea what he had done wrong, yet Dirtpaw had despised him since he met the brown tom.  
"Don't mind him," said Darkleaf, she seemed to know what was happening even though she was blind, Shadowkit purred in thanks.  
"Well about this story, what do you want to hear?" Softheart said and Shadowkit pondered over the question before answering,  
"Can you tell me the story of how Clawedheart joined the clan?" he asked curiously, he had met Clawedheart once before but she was in a hurry and had to leave quickly. He also didn't know the story as it had happened before he was born. Softheart was getting comfortable to launch into the story when a call from outside interrupted him.  
"Let all cats old enough to climb trees gather beneath the Rockpile to hear my words," called Treestar. Shadowkit jumped to his feet and bounded out to the clearing, excited for one of his closest friends.  
"Where were you?" Nightbreeze hissed, concern and exasperation tinged her mew.  
"I was in the elders den," he answered quietly as Treestar started speaking again.  
"The making of a new warrior is a very important moment in clan life, and for the apprentice," he mewed formally. "Rabbitpaw, please step forward," he said. Rabbitpaw stepped forward on trembling legs, pride and excitement gleamed in her eyes. Sandkit and Owlkit were squabbling so Shadowkit missed the next bit but he caught the rest.  
"Rabbitpaw, from this moment you will be known as Rabbitleap, the clan honours your skill and speed, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Skyclan," he finished, he leapt down and placed his muzzle on her head and she respectfully licked his shoulder.  
"Rabbitleap! Rabbitleap!" the clan cheered joyfully and Shadowkit tried to cheer the loudest for the new warrior. After the cheering died down he padded over to the newly made warrior, "Congratulations," he mewed, touching noses with her.  
"Thanks Shadowkit, soon it will be me congratulating you!" she purred, her eyes dancing joyfully. He purred in response, her happiness lifting his spirits even more. ' _Soon I'll be an apprentice and I'll be the best apprentice there is!'_ He vowed silently to himself.


End file.
